


into the dark we hide

by pokerap



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/M, Possible Spoilers, Possibly Unrequited Love, Post-Timeskip (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), it's hubert what were you expecting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-26
Updated: 2019-08-26
Packaged: 2020-09-27 10:09:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20405977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pokerap/pseuds/pokerap
Summary: He can’t chase her nightmares away now, they both know it.





	into the dark we hide

Her Majesty has finished with her duties for the day; her speech to the heads of the noble houses was a rousing success, as predicted. The Empire’s armies will flourish and they can continue their advance against the Alliance. The Kingdom is already in shambles, and Cornelia has a tight grip on those that still oppose the Empire. It’s not good enough, but it’s a small victory in a line of stalemates and defeats.

He isn’t surprised when Her Majesty requests he accompany her and he follows her back to her room.

“Finally,” Lady Edelgard says as she enters the room and he shuts the door behind her, “I thought the headache would overtake me before I could finish my speech.”

Hubert gestures for her to sit and she does, and without waiting for a command or an indication from her, he moves to gently remove her crown. He clicks his tongue against his teeth, chiding. “I can see why. Your servants have bound your hair too tightly.”

She doesn’t ask the question they both know she wants to, _have they?_ Her eyes flick up to look at her hair in the mirror as he begins the delicate work of undoing the pins and releasing her hair from its confines.

“Thank you, Hubert,” She says instead. A small sigh escapes her, relieved.

They don’t speak as he works. Each pin is carefully laid out in front of her and the process takes far less time than the preparations she undergoes in the morning, when they bind her hair. Hubert knows better than anyone how to fix her hair in this particular style - he’s the one who designed it, after all.

She shakes her hair out once he’s done and stepped away. “Hubert,” She raises her voice before he can leave.

“Your Majesty?” His question goes unspoken as well. _What else can I assist you with?_

The Empress studies him in the mirror, her expression betraying nothing. He knows her better than anyone else, and even still there are times when he can’t read her. Those times have only increased over the years and sometimes it feels as though he’s staring at someone he scarcely knows. He knew war would change her.

“Stay with me.” It isn’t an order, but it is given with the strict tones of one. He knows better than to believe she would order him around for something like this.

Perhaps his confusion is too obvious, even in the reflection of the mirror. She turns around, piercing eyes on him almost as if daring him to disagree. There are disagreements, surely - he has business to attend to, it’s improper - but he finds they don’t come. Words don’t either and he hesitates, hand on the doorknob.

“Stay with me.” She repeats, and this time the stiff tones of an order have fallen away. There’s the slightest hint of something in her voice - something vaguely familiar and small.

_Fear,_ he realizes. He hasn’t heard it since they were children and Her Majesty was simply Lady Edelgard.

(_Stay with me,_ She used to ask him then. _You chase the nightmares away._)

He suddenly finds that words have quite simply abandoned him. Instead of responding, he nods and steps away from the door.

Her Majesty’s shoulders slump the tiniest bit and her unreadable expression softens. She doesn’t thank him; she doesn’t need to. She rises from her chair and slips into the adjoining room to change for the night.

He ignores his traitorous heart threatening to beat out his chest.

“Do you remember all the times you used to comfort me when we were children?” She asks as she steps back into the room. Her nightgown is long, covering her all the way down to her knees, silken sleeves hiding scars new and old. With her hair down she looks younger, more like the girl who had led the Black Eagles, and tied purple ribbons in her hair every day. “I had nightmares all the time back then.”

“I’m pleased they aren’t as frequent now.” He finds himself saying.

A ghost of a smile passes across her face as she pulls the covers back and sits on the bed. “Sometimes.”

“Sometimes?”

“They’ve been terrible lately.” The admission isn’t an easy one. Her eyes flick down and away, focusing on some part of the floor. Her Majesty doesn’t usually look away - it was a habit she worked so hard to rid herself of for years. Maybe she realizes that and she corrects it, returning those bright eyes to him. “I thought you might chase them away, like you used to.”

What he wouldn’t give to be able to do that now. The nostalgia of it all stings, and he hates to be reminded of a time long since gone. He can’t chase her nightmares away now, they both know it.

“Your Majesty—”

She interrupts, “Sit with me, Hubert.”

He shouldn’t, and yet he complies. She slides beneath the covers and he takes a spot near the foot of her bed, watching her too intensely. If she’s bothered, she doesn’t show it. “Stay with me.” She hesitates. He knows what will leave her mouth before she does, yet he can do nothing to stop it. “Please.”

It isn’t the first time he’s given in despite his misgivings. It won’t be the last. He stays.

Eventually, Her Majesty sleeps. No nightmares plague her tonight. When he finally leaves - too late, _far_ too late - he can only wish she’d ask something more of him. This isn't enough. It's never enough.

**Author's Note:**

> I should probably finish my Black Eagles playthrough before writing anything but my hand slipped. It's too late for me.


End file.
